๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐: ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐ฏ๐
Kim Eun-ju wandered around for a long time.
She had been separated from Lee Ye-ji and Choi Sung-il, and had been looking for other Hunters to team up with.
However, it was difficult to find someone while being wary of monsters that could appear at any moment.
“Vice President, let’s take a short break.”
“Yes, you seem to be pushing yourself too hard.”
The two Hunters who had come to her aid advised Kim Eun-ju.
“Should we?”
Kim Eun-ju decided to sit on the floor and rest for a while.
‘๐ผ๐ข ๐ ๐๐ค๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐?’
In fact, she had been feeling pressured ever since she entered the Gate.
She was worried that she wasn’t being helpful to others, even though she had entered as the Vice-President of the Hunter’s Association.
It was the same when Balok appeared.
She had watched as her fellow Hunters died and were badly injured.
Kim Eun-ju hated herself for running away without even using a single skill.
What was a ranker? What was an executive of the Association?
She couldn’t even thrust a sword at the enemy while her colleagues were getting hurt.
She put her face on her knees.
“Will you be busy again once you go outside, Vice President?”
One of the Hunters asked her.
“Ah. . . probably. I have paperwork to do. Especially since this S-Rank Gate is so unusual. I think I’ll have to do a lot of interviews to cover everything that happened inside.”
“Will you be interviewing all of us?”
“Yes, because I need to put together a report that combines everyone’s accounts. It’s not a common occurrence.”
Kim Eun-ju nodded at the two Hunters’ words.
“Then I guess you’ll be reporting mainly on Balok?”
“Probably. . . That incident was the biggest. It seems to match the monster that appeared in the American S-Rank Gate.”
“I heard that the US couldn’t catch it. Is that true?”
“Yes, that’s right. But I wonder if we’ll be able to do it this time. Who could possibly catch such a monster?”
The other two Hunters sighed in regret at her words.
She wanted South Korea to become a country that had successfully blocked an S-Rank Gate.
Besides, if Korean Hunters could catch Balok, who even the US had missed, it would be a great honor.
“I hope Hunter Do Kyung-hoo will take care of it. What do you think, Hunter Kim Eun-ju?”
“No. Don’t you think Hunter Min Si-joon or Hunter Ryu Ji-hwan would be a better match?”
“Hey, let’s not talk about Ryu Ji-hwan.”
Kim Eun-ju listened quietly as they chatted and gossiped about Ryu Ji-hwan.
“I saw it all because I was next to Hunter Do Kyung-hoo. Ryu Ji-hwan was the one who broke the agreement and attacked first. That’s why dozens of people died right from the start.”
As one of the Hunters gave a long explanation of what he had seen with his own eyes, the Hunter next to him asked with a puzzled expression.
“But why would a Guild Leader. . . do something so reckless? Won’t he be detained by the HSIU as soon as he leaves the Gate?”
“That’s what everyone’s saying. Why on earth would the leader of [Gold River Guild] do that?”
“Maybe he got a good offer from somewhere.”
“How would you know. . . Ah.”
The Hunter shut his mouth, stopping himself before he could say something reckless to his comrade.
“Ugh. . .”
His colleague’s eyes rolled back in his head and blood poured from his mouth.
The murderous intent was too gentle to be called killing intent, and the whimsical aura that emanated from Ryu Ji-hwan like a flame was too bizarre.
“Ryu. . . Ji-hwan!!”
“Long time no see, Hunter Kim Eun-ju.”
Kim Eun-ju got up from her seat and immediately tried to get into a fighting stance.
“Oh my, it seems like my hostage doesn’t know her place.”
Ryu Ji-hwan raised one corner of his mouth and pointed a finger.
Four long spears of flame were aimed at the neck of the trembling Hunter.
“P-Please spare me. . .”
He begged, tears streaming down his face.
“Ugh! Hunter Ryu Ji-hwan! What the hell is this!! Are you crazy?!”
“Kekeke. Crazy? No, I’m perfectly sane.”
“But why. . . why would the leader of [Gold River Guild] kill his own colleague!!”
Kim Eun-ju snapped in anger.
These were people who had risked their lives to enter this Gate for the sake of others.
They hadn’t come here to be killed by their colleagues in such an absurd way.
“Hey, don’t glare at me like that. It makes me look like the bad guy.”
Ryu Ji-hwan crouched down.
Then, he stroked the head of the already dead Hunter and continued speaking.
“Do you know what people say about me? They call me a genius, a treasure of the second generation.”
“. . .Why? Do you want to brag about it?”
“Kekeke. You’re being unusually sharp today.”
Ryu Ji-hwan took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.
“But I hate hearing that stuff.”
“. . . .”
“No matter how much I struggle and try like a dog, there’s an invisible wall, you see.”
“. . .A wall?”
“Kim Eun-ju, haven’t you ever felt it? When you look at natural monsters like Choi Dae-soo, Do Kyung-hwan, and Gi Il-yeon, I feel infinitely small. Smaller and smaller until. . .”
He flicked the cigarette ash onto the corpse.
The dead Hunter’s eyes and the eyes of Ryu Ji-hwan, who was speaking, both felt equally empty.
“It’s like an ant trapped in an insurmountable jar.”
Whewโ
The cigarette smoke dispersed into the air, unable to take root like his words.
“Stop talking nonsense.”
Kim Eun-ju opened her mouth, glaring at Ryu Ji-hwan.
“How is what you’re ranting about now related to murdering your fellow Hunter?”
“. . .Whew.”
“And! To some people. . . to some people, you’re the wall! Do you think you’re the only one who struggles with such feelings?”
Ryu Ji-hwan brushed back his unruly blonde hair.
Then he started laughing, kekeke.
“Really? Thanks for telling me something I didn’t know. But you know, both of your questions have the same answer: YES.”
“What?!”
“Kekeke. First of all, I don’t want to live my life considering the feelings of those who see me as a wall. Humans are originally wolves to each other.”
“What on earth. . .”
“And secondly. Whether or not it’s related, I have my own sense of propriety.”
Ryu Ji-hwan took something out of his pocket.
Kim Eun-ju’s expression gradually hardened as she looked at the object.
“Ah. . . Don’t tell me, you’re. . .?”
“Kekekeke. Welcome to <Narak>~!โ
Dozens of flaming blades flickered around him, their tongues licking the air.
๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท
“Tighten your ranks!! Don’t spare any potions!!”
Do Kyung-hoo gave orders to the Hunters who had gathered again.
Some of the Hunters had fought several monsters while they were separated, while others had only managed to avoid Balok, so their conditions were all different.
The seriously injured, such as Felix, had been evacuated outside the Gate.
Do Kyung-hoo reorganized his mana with the determination that this was the last stand.
At least Min Siwoo was fighting the strongest enemy inside this Gate.
So shouldn’t he be able to handle even the small fry who might rush in?
‘๐ ๐๐ช๐๐จ๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐ก๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐๐ก๐๐จ ๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฌ.’
He adjusted his breathing, stroking his sword.
It made him feel bitter in a corner of his heart to see those who had once been his rivals running ahead of him.
“Hey, Hunter Min Si-joon.”
“Yes? Why?”
“Your brother seems to have gotten stronger.”
“I think so too.”
Min Si-joon could definitely feel that his brother’s skills were different from before, after seeing what he had done recently.
“What should I say. . . He’s become much more refined. But he’s not dull. It’s hard to believe that he used to be called the Mad Dog.”
“He has become a lot calmer these days.”
“I see. But there’s one thing I’m curious about. . .”
“Yes? Please tell me.”
“How does your older brother take care of his skin?”
Min Si-joon pursed his lips.
He had tried to laugh, thinking it was a joke, but Do Kyung-hoo’s expression was so serious that he couldn’t even smile.
“He washed it well with soap and he shaved with a razor.”
“. . .I see.”
“I’ll be sure to ask him later. If I ask him, he’ll probably make a fuss.”
Min Si-joon nodded with an effort to stay calm.
“We have a report from the Hunters who went on reconnaissance!!”
At that moment, the Hunter who assisted Do Kyung-hoo approached him and shouted.
“They said that there’s an army of monsters charging from 10km ahead.”
“It’s finally starting. Everyone, get your weapons ready!!!”
He shouted fiercely, and all the Hunters immediately faced forward and prepared to meet the enemy.
Compared to the number when they first entered the Gate, it was only about half.
However, since they were all experienced Hunters, he believed that each one of them would be worth a hundred.
Then, Do Kyung-hoo suddenly asked his aide, as he had not confirmed the fact.
“By the way, what did they say the approximate number was?”
“That’s. . . about 2,000.”
“Haah.”
He had asked for nothing.
Do Kyung-hoo gritted his teeth at the enormous number.
Even he, who didn’t believe in miracles, couldn’t help but wish for something different to happen to this horde of monsters. For the first time, he found himself praying to someone else.
‘๐พ๐ค๐ข๐ ๐ค๐ฃ, ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ค๐ค, ๐๐ ๐๐ก-๐ฎ๐๐ค๐ฃ.’
๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท
Ryu Ji-hwan walked slowly, carrying a leather backpack on his back.
The distance was longer than he had thought, and it seemed to have taken him over an hour.
The place he arrived at was a large temple in the middle of the forest.
He entered through the half-open door.
Inside the dusty chapel were thousands of long chairs, a large statue of a god, and a gorgeous stained glass ceiling that decorated the interior of the temple with colors from the sunlight.
He walked to the very front of the chapel.
Ryu Ji-hwan took out a candle from his pocket, lit it, and placed it on the palm of the statue’s hand.
“Do you still believe in God?”
A man with a black silhouette sitting in the middle seat spoke.
“Of course not. As if.”
Ryu Ji-hwan glanced at him and lowered his backpack to the floor.
“Why aren’t you catching monsters and loitering here instead, Hunter Min Siwoo of the โจHSIU Gangbuk Branchโฉ?”
“Well, why aren’t you catching monsters and here instead, Ryu Ji-hwan of the [Gold River Guild]. . . No, the drug dealer ‘McJester’.”
Ryu Ji-hwan ran his hand through his hair at Siwoo’s words.
He had tried to act a little bit, but. . .
“Damn it. I didn’t think I’d get caught this quickly. How did you know?”
Siwoo shrugged his shoulders at Ryu Ji-hwan’s question.
“It’s nothing much. You shot flames at me when you were escaping.”
“Why is that?”
“Did you know that everyone’s mana traces are different? It’s like a kind of fingerprint.”
“I know that. Damn it, so what?”
“Today, you stabbed an eyeball monster with a spear.”
“Don’t tell me. . . Kekeke. You have to be thorough with your research. It takes days to send it to a research institute and compare it to the mana traces you manifested today.”
Ryu Ji-hwan’s sarcastic question, Siwoo pointed to the podium with his finger.
There was a stack of yellow file folders.
Ryu Ji-hwan took a file out of the folder and skimmed through the contents.
“. . .Horizontal and vertical strokes, mana circuit accents, the habitual tail that gets drawn when using the fire element. . . 99.999% match between the two individuals. . . What is this?”
“It’s a printout of what’s in my head.”
“You want me to believe this?”
“So it’s okay for the Guild Leader to kill people inside the Gate?”
Ryu Ji-hwan had definitely made sure that there was no one around when he had killed them.
There had definitely been no one following him.
But how could he have known?
He had even disposed of the bodies.
“You. . . how. . .?!”
“I just figured it out, you moron!”